This animation, Crayon Dragon, was made by California Institute of the Arts student Toniko Pantoja as a second-year project. Along with an absolutely lovely soundtrack and a fluid style that comes across as "Impressionist Don Bluth," Pantoja weaves a poignant wordless narrative in all of three minutes. Here's the synopsis for this stellar short — "A girl is commissioned to paint over an old concrete illustration, in which to her surprise, [she] sinks into. She befriends a painted dragon who has a wing missing."

BONUS: Another impressive film by Pantoja, Serenade to Miette, about a circus illusionist battling gangsters.